Life + Style - 4 December 2020

‘Isla’

THE WEEKEND

Capturing memories Page ˜

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life+style The Weekend Sun ˜°4˙ August, ˜˛°˝2020 December, ˜˛˜˛

Capturing memories Living in the physical and leaving digital behind In a world buzzing with technology and digital, one Tauranga photographer is stepping back in time and focusing in on the physical.

‘Mackenzie’ Gold award in Germany

And she’s doing well at it – this year winning numerous international awards for her stunning photography.

Donna Beck knows the value of ‘right here, right now’ and wants to pass that understanding on to everyone she photographs.

“When my daughter was born and as she was growing up, I started to take lots of photos – as all new parents do. They were just snaps, but I always had a love of freezing moments of time.

“Over the last few years, we have all really moved into the digital world and Facebook and Instagram has become our family photo album, which is really sad!

I’m trying to get whanau into printing and displaying their photos; not having your beautiful family memories rattling around on random USB sticks in the drawer,” says Donna.

“There is nothing better than proudly displaying photos in your home of your loved ones. I look at my own family photos on the wall every single day and they bring me such joy and pride.”

Photography has always been a passion for Donna.

Growing up she wanted to be one of three things: a teacher, a photographer or a rock star.

“I learnt quite early on that despite my love of singing, I wasn’t very good at it,” she says.

She tried teaching for a stint, along with caregiving,

beauty therapy, retail and hospitality jobs, but always found herself coming back to something creative.

“My Nana was a great artist, musician and photographer and I spent a lot of time with her growing up learning about all things arty – colours, light and shadows, form and textures.

“When I was about 12 I remember getting my first camera and taking photos of my younger brother and the neighbours’ children.

“My Dad told me that a great photographer knows how to turn something ordinary into something beautiful or interesting to look at, and I’ve never forgotten that.”

She switched her passion to a career when someone in her life passed away – an event that she says brought focus and clarity into her life.

“It wasn’t until the death of someone close to us that I truly realised the importance of photos in our lives.

The first thing you do when someone passes away is search for photos of them, and keep them close to you, because that’s all you have left of them.

“I dreamed of how amazing it would be to wake up and do something that I loved and was passionate about as a career, rather than just earning a living.”

So she sat down one night, penned her resignation letter and decided she’d give herself four weeks to turn her creative dream into cash.

“I haven’t looked back,” says Donna.

“That was almost two years ago now and I’m so glad I made that decision.”

There’s a magic in Donna’s photography. Ethereal lighting, gorgeous models, and big, beautiful blossoms come together to make Donna’s photography stand out.

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˙ December, ˜˛˜˛

life+style The Weekend Sun ˆ

“Our grandparents printed their photos and displayed them, and I am showing families why it’s so important to go back to this”

And others think the same.

“I came across a portrait competition in America that was open to professional photographers from around the world. I decided to put one photo forward to see how it went.”

She won bronze in the competition and the accolades flowed in from there.

“From there I entered three other portraits into an Australian contest and won two bronzes and a silver with those.”

More recently, Donna entered her photography into a German portrait competition and won gold.

The judge’s feedback said: ‘Stunning portrait! Everything about this image is beautiful. Styling, posing, editing and lighting are really well done. The sepia look make’s it extra special. Great work!’

Now, Donna is eyeing up the International Photographer of the Year awards.

But despite the wins, Donna always comes back to the importance of capturing a moment in time – and doing something meaningful with it.

“Our grandparents printed their photos and displayed them, and I am showing families why it’s so important to go back to this. It’s just so important to exist in photos, if not for yourself but for your children and the future generations.

“Technology changes, hard drives fail, computers crash and it’s likely that USB’s

‘Mila’ Bronze award in USA

‘Olivia’ Bronze award in Australia

Donna Beck

‘Jayleigh’

‘Scarlett’ Silver award in Australia

will become old technology in the future just as floppy discs, video tapes and CDs have.

“Real printed photos will last hundreds of years, digital photos have an average life span of just seven.”

To follow Donna on her photographic journey, or to create your own memories with her, find her on Facebook at: Donna Beck Photographer Tauranga – Artistic Portraits.

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‘Nevaeh’ Bronze award in Australia

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December, ˜˛˜˛ life+style The Weekend Sun ˜°4˙ August, ˜˛°˝2020

A merry, sustainable Christmas Michael Buble is back on the airwaves and the weather just keeps getting better, meaning Christmas is just around the corner.

From bulk packs of plastic decorations to singleuse wrapping paper, producing excessive waste has become synonymous with the silly season. But this doesn’t have to be so.

Here are some tips on how to enjoy a sustainable Christmas, without compromising on looks.

Really reusable wrapping

An artificial tree can be reused over and over, but is made from plastics. While a pine tree is obviously biodegrade, it requires chopping down a healthy tree purely for a few weeks of decoration.

The Conversation estimates that an artificial tree needs to be reused for 10-12 Christmases to be a more environmentally friendly option than a real one. A study cited by the New York Times says it would take 20 years when compared to a real tree that is reused or recycled afterwards.

The findings include the carbon emissions used to produce a fake tree, and to transport it to the US from China, where the majority of fake trees are made.

They conclude that purchasing a real tree from a local Christmas tree farm is the most planet-friendly option, as it reduces transportation emissions and guarantees continual plantings.

The rustic look of wrapping gifts in brown paper and twine is in, and is a more sustainable option than the classic, shiny wrapping paper that isn’t recyclable.

However, unless you’re a veteran paper saver who neatly unwraps their gifts and folds it up for next year, brown paper wrapping is still a short-lived, single-use option.

Wrapping gifts in fabric is a pretty alternative, and when tied right, it doesn’t require any tape.

Fabric bags with drawstrings that double as bows make textile wrapping even easier. As wrapping bags becomes more popular, more Christmas-themed pattern options are becoming available online.

A tree-shape made from wood gets you the best of both worlds, as it’s natural and reusable.

This can be as simple as plain wooden planks stacked upwards from largest to smallest to form a tree shape.

This option does mean compromising the look of leaves and pine needles, but creates plenty of opportunity for decorating.

The tree debate

Reusable energy

Is it more environmentally friendly to buy an artificial tree, or a real one?

The best of both

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˙ December, 4 ˜˛˜˛ ˜° August,2020 ˜˛°˝

life+style The Weekend Sun ˝

“From bulk packs of plastic decorations to single-use wrapping paper, producing excessive waste has become synonymous with the silly season. But, this doesn’t have to be so”

Christmas by opting for solar powered lights.

The pricing for solar Christmas lights is on par with battery powered options, and saves on battery replacement costs.

Bringing in the sparkles

Trying to use less single use and more sustainable materials doesn’t mean Christmas needs to be less sparkly – because biodegradable glitter is a thing.

The eco-friendly glitter is made from plants, giving it a much shorter lifespan than its plastic predecessor.

If you DIY your Christmas decor, there are plenty of biodegradable glitters and colours to choose from.

to be pricier than plastic but can be a cheap and easy DIY project – a humble jar can become a Christmas ornament by being filled with fairy lights.

Shop Local

Gifting NZ made products not only supports local businesses during this economically trying time, but is good for the planet, too.

The closer the producer, the less carbon emissions it takes to deliver your gift to you.

If you’re stuck for where to look, Facebook group Chooice features posts from Kiwi businesses daily, and is a great place to start.

MacKenzie Dyer

Best material for decorations?

When it comes to being environmentally friendly, reducing plastic use is a great thing – especially as the types of plastic that can be recycled in NZ is limited.

However, all materials take time to decompose, which becomes problematic when not recycled.

Wood takes the least amount of time to biodegrade when compared to glass and plastics, and can be made light enough to hang safely from a tree.

According to NZ resources site, Science Learning Hub, a glass bottle can take one million years to biodegrade.

But, because it’s completely recyclable, glass is still a good option for those who aren’t fans of the rustic wood-and-brown-paper look that has become synonymous with ‘sustainable Christmas’.

Glass decorations, such as packets of baubles, tend

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December, ˜˛˜˛ life+style The Weekend Sun ˜°4˙August, ˜˛°˝ 2020

Selwyn Ridge filmmakers Learning while making a film When Selwyn Ridge Primary School teacher Sarah Oemcke heard about the International Youth Silent Film Festival, she and fellow teacher Scott Feistt decided to transform their two classes of students into filmmakers for two weeks.

IYSFF NZ project coordinator Jannine Spiers runs a workshop with the students.

The project combined writing, mathematics, technology, art and team work in a way that’s quite unique.

“They had to do the planning, writing, collaborating, and learn the technology,” says Sarah.

Students became camera operators, screen writers, producers, directors, editors and special effect artists, developing new strengths and skills along the way.

The International Youth Silent Film Festival – IYSFF - is a global competition that challenges young filmmakers from across the United States of America, Australia, The United Arab Emirates, and New Zealand to create a three-minute silent film set to one of ten musical scores composed especially for the festival.

Filmmakers had to choose one pre-recorded musical theme upon which to base their film.

The 2020 themes being Romance, Motown, Horror, Slapstick, Epic, Science Fiction, Western, Noir, Discover and this year’s new soundtrack Reflections. Films could be submitted in black and white, or colour and may be live action

or animation.

“We had 57 students in 13 teams, two teachers and quite a bit of help.”

IYSFF NZ project coordinator Jannine Spiers and filmmaker and actor Daniel Bechir Urrizaga came in to help with filming.

Internationally renowned stuntman and stunt coordinator Augie Davis contributed his expertise, and special effects makeup artist Sandi Cutts showed students how to use special effects wax.

“The students were tricking some of the office staff and going up to them saying ‘I’ve just cut my hand’ and showing painted gashes in their hands,” says Sarah.

“Our smallest team had one person in it, and our largest had 13. They chose their own teams, allocated themselves their own roles, created backdrops and sets. We had four animation teams and the rest were acted.”

Sarah and Scott encouraged each team to choose roles for their members that they felt they could achieve using their skills.

“We have pupils who are often very quiet, but they were the directors for two of the largest teams. It was really fascinating because it brought something out of them that we’d never seen before.

One was storyboarding, planning the shot list, telling everybody what to do, where to go, and it was fascinating to see her running the whole team.”

Sarah told the producers they were in charge, but needed to encourage their teams.

˙ December, 4 ˜˛˜˛ ˜° August, 2020 ˜˛°˝

life+style The Weekend Sun ˘

“The International Youth Silent Film Festival – IYSFF - is a global competition that challenges young filmmakers from across the United States of America, Australia, The United Arab Emirates, and New Zealand

“We had clear guidelines, they had checklists, and it was their job to keep the team together.

“It is their story, we’ve given them the guidance and provided the scaffolding. We’ve talked about story, and their story waves. I was doing workshops with them about camera angles, how to focus the camera, how to frame all the different types of shots like close ups, wide shots and establishing the scenes.”

The teams filmed many of the scenes from three different angles, asking the actors to repeat their actions.

“They had like a birds-eye view, a close up and medium shot. This was so they had footage to play with in editing.”

Students also made a camera dolly out of roller chairs to keep the camera still while doing arc shots and Dutch tilts.

“We workshopped everything with them the day before so it was fresh in their minds. They had use of the green screen, and were like gorilla style indie filmmakers. They were using microphone stands as camera holders, and adapting all sorts of things.”

The teachers said there were to be no weapons or gore.

“But they do like horror,” says Sarah.

“One team did a detective story and wanted to do the body chalk outline. They used the alleyway near the school. When they finished filming they turned it into a lady with a basket and flowers.”

Selwyn Ridge Primary School music teacher

MAKE

A

Andrea Pooley provided sessions on music and filmmaking.

“They went back to the old Popeye movies with all the special effects sounds,” says Sarah.

After workshopping, storyboarding, rehearsing, learning technical skills and creating sets, the students completed filming and editing across a few days.

“They could definitely give Taika Waititi and Peter Jackson a run for their money in speed in filming.”

A total of 36 films were entered into this year’s IYSFF NZ Nationals competition.

One of the Selwyn Ridge Primary School teams, made up of Kaea Price, Lily Cameron, Davey Keam, Maddie Caudle, Jake Riley, Andre Rogers, Molly Lobb, Seren Pascoe, Ella Andrew, Yun Min and Benji Parker were placed in the top 15 finalists with their film ‘Potions and Powers’.

Other finalist teams came from Tauranga Girls’ College, Lynfield College, Carmel College, Ponsonby Intermediate and a solo entry from a Te Kura Correspondence School student in Te Puke.

Due to the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak, the organisers made the difficult decision to switch to a streamed version of the 2020 IYSFF NZ National Final, which was held on Friday, October 16.

The winner of the IYSFF 2020 NZ Nationals was Sophia Kwan and Daniel Wardadi from Carmel College & Lynfield College with their film ‘Lost in Rosalie Liddle Crawford Time’.

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Daniel Bechir Urrizaga runs a workshop with the students.

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